Chapter 158 Qin Dynasty Has Been Dead for Eight Hundred Years 70

The King of Chu calculated the days, and looking at the scar on Zhang Qian's chest, he became increasingly surprised and uncertain. How could such a long scar have healed so quickly? He even couldn't help but reach out and touch the scar.

Then look at the scars on his back when he turns around; the crisscrossing scars make them look even more gruesome.

This could not have been caused by a simple cut; the scar cannot be faked. Xiang Yu truly wanted his envoy dead.

That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that he realized one thing from it: Zhang Qian wasn't lying.

"Someone, deliver the decree..." The King of Chu's expression was somber. Xiang Yu wanted him dead, so he naturally couldn't just sit and wait to die. Even a rabbit will hurt someone when cornered, let alone a human.

Zhang Qian obeyed the order respectfully, thinking to himself that this matter was settled, and he had even exceeded the target. After that, he just needed to stay here and hide. Judging from the Queen of Han's appearance, she didn't seem like a person who would break her promise.

Lost in thought, Zhang Qian walked out of the palace with another of the King of Chu's confidants. He unconsciously touched the scar on his chest. At least following the Queen of Han was a good choice for him now.

…………

Back at his residence, Zhang Qian deliberately chose the evening as the time to take out bamboo slips and carefully write down the events that had transpired in the palace.

He looked around furtively, clutching his calligraphy brush, and wondered to himself: Is this really going to work?

Isn't this way of transmitting intelligence a bit too frivolous...?

After touching his chest again, Zhang Qian thought that if it were the Queen of Han, it wouldn't be impossible.

Although it was not quite what Zhang Qian had expected, the small, hidden camera that Zhu Qing'ai had left on him faithfully recorded everything, and the intelligence was transmitted back in such a simple way.

Zhu Qing'ai learned the outcome of the matter even earlier than Zhang Qian wrote the intelligence report.

But intelligent people can't help but ponder why the miracles on the walls of Xianyang not long ago were just miracles, and why the Queen of Han seemed to be able to communicate with the gods.

Zhang Qian shook his head. How could a god choose a queen over the King of Han? Perhaps the King of Han could do it too, but he just hadn't seen it done.

After confirming that the bamboo scroll had been spread out for a sufficient amount of time, he picked it up and placed it in the brazier to burn.

A strange scene unfolded simultaneously: the smoke gathered together and didn't even drift outwards.

Zhang Qian: ...

This makes it seem like he deliberately chose to do it at night, which is really silly.

But he didn't have time to think about that right now. He stared at the smoke ball in front of him, and after a few breaths, "pop!" Zhang Qian mentally recorded the sound effect.

Unsurprisingly, the smoke ball simply vanished.

Zhang Qian reached out and touched the spot where the tobacco ball had been, but there was nothing there. He looked down into the brazier and saw that there was no ash left from the burning. He didn't even have to think about what to do with it.

At this point, Zhang Qian became even more certain that he had abandoned darkness and embraced the light.

…………

With the King of Chu's proclamation to the world, symbolizing a complete break with Xiang Yu's side, the question arose as to whether those who had received rewards from Xiang Yu should travel to the vicinity of Xianyang to accept them.

The checks and balances between the ruler and his ministers played out all over the land.

Even those who have never experienced unification but have witnessed centralized kingship, how could they be willing to let their subordinates be rewarded by others, surpassing them?

Of course, even if the former King of Chu, now Emperor Yi, does not recognize the current title and accuses Xiang Yu of murdering the envoy, not everyone is on his side.

After all, the subjects of my subjects are not my subjects; this is an old tradition.

The King of Chu's edict was even sent to the various vassal states in the form of a secret decree before being made public in Chu.

Even if he himself had some power, he could not guarantee that he could rest easy in Chu.

Once the imperial edict was issued, the King of Chu directly sent a secret letter to Liu Bang.

The entire letter can be summed up in just three words: Please take me in!

Looking across the land, only the King of Han, who is "ordained by Heaven," can protect him. Considering the legendary miracles and the "dead men" he has personally witnessed returning, protecting him should be a piece of cake.

Being the King of Chu is bad, being the Emperor is bad, preserving one's life is the best option.

The King of Chu had already resigned himself to his fate. He was better off under Liu Bang, and Qin Ziying even managed to become the prime minister. As for him... well, let's not talk about prime minister. As long as he's alive, that's good enough.

…………

Upon receiving the secret letter, Liu Bang was filled with questions. He examined the letter repeatedly; it was a secret edict written on the finest silk, expressing gratitude to the First Emperor for unifying the written language. He could understand the text without needing translation.

But the problem is this: why can't he understand this combination of characters?!

Completely baffled, he could only look at the 'Han' beside him and wonder why he didn't ask the amazing 'Han'.

Meeting Liu Bang's inquisitive gaze, 'Han' remained calm, glancing lightly at the secret edict: "Empress Lü sent people to sow discord in order to help you."

Liu Bang waited patiently for what would happen next, and then... and then nothing happened.

'Han': "Do you have any further questions?"

"My ancestors, why didn't you tell me this before?"

'Han' shifted her hand to support her chin and continued to float in mid-air, surrounded by numerous bolts of cloth, each embroidered with a map of a city. She seemed to be casually choosing which bolt of cloth to use for her clothes.

He didn't react much to Liu Bangzhuang's seemingly mournful yet coquettish behavior: "You didn't ask before."

The Han official blatantly lied: "How would I know anything about what happened in Chu?"

Liu Bang felt a lump in his throat. He knew that "Han" was just giving him the runaround. The remnants of Chu were still being held captive by them. They knew as much as he could about the affairs of Chu, even if they didn't know it by heart.

Liu Bang began to reflect on what he had done recently that was detrimental to the country. He had been working overtime every day and had even stopped being intimate with women. It seemed that he hadn't done anything to ruin the country.

After a pause, the man added, "Don't talk like a child, it's embarrassing."

"Ahem." Liu Bang resumed his usual demeanor, saying ingratiatingly, "I was just trying to amuse my parents, wasn't I?"

With just one sentence, the previous topic was diverted.

The words "Han" made Liu Bang lose all interest in what had happened before, and he completely abandoned his idea of ​​entertaining his relatives, wishing he could stomp on it.

Because 'Han' said, 'Instead of entertaining your parents like this, you should think about how you can assassinate Xiang Yu to entertain them.'

As 'Han' spoke, a kind smile slowly appeared on his face.

Liu Bang subconsciously repeated, "How do I assassinate... wait, me?"

Liu Bang pointed at himself in disbelief: "Me? Me?"

"Me, assassinate Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King?"

"Is there a problem?" 'Han' asked Liu Bang, seemingly genuinely puzzled.

Liu Bang's pupils dilated in shock; how was this any different from sending Chen Sheng and Wu Guang to assassinate Qin Shi Huang?

What level of martial prowess did he possess, and what level of martial prowess did Xiang Yu possess?

He was still somewhat aware of his own situation; as a self-aware person, he felt truly wronged.

"Ancestors, I am not guilty of such a crime."

Is this retribution for his previous retreat?

Liu Bang didn't think much of it, because he saw a hint of a smile on 'Han's' lips, so he cooperated and asked, "Is there any other way?"

Instead of directly answering Liu Bang's question, Han asked him a question in return: "Do you know why Jing Ke and Zhang Liang failed?"

Liu Bang rationally analyzed that the First Emperor was certainly better in martial arts than Jing Ke and more cunning than Zhang Liang.

But since 'Han' asked this question, it's definitely not that simple.

So he tentatively replied, "It was your work."

"You could be any smarter."

Being disliked was a daily occurrence for Liu Bang, but he remained unmoved.

Actually, he also felt that it wasn't because of 'Han,' otherwise it wouldn't be consistent with 'Han's' previous behavior.

Liu Bang quickly learned the reason, and the Han ruler said in a chilling tone: "If a king meets another king, the king will kill the king."

These six words sent a chill down Liu Bang's spine, as if he had been plunged into an ice cave and felt the cold killing intent emanating from them.

While he was in a dilemma, he also had time to fill in the gaps in his own mind and fill in the gaps in what 'Han' had said. The only person in history who successfully assassinated a vassal king was Zhuan Zhu, but that was still an internal struggle. At that time, it was really hard to say who would be the King of Wu in terms of the fate of the country.

Someone like him is like Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin; he and Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, were not competitors for the succession of the same state.

He understood the meaning of 'Han', but that didn't mean he actually wanted to carry out the assassination himself.

"Maybe we should take it slow..." He felt he could hold on a little longer.

Although he was heartbroken by the large number of deaths, he felt the deepest sorrow for another country.

Meeting the gaze of the Han official, Liu Bang quickly changed his tune: "However, I have a plan!"

The Han dynasty was almost a hallucination; what Liu Bang was about to say could bring the Han dynasty back to life.

"Leaving aside the cowardly and afraid-to-die Emperor Chu, there is one in the city who killed Zhao Gao before, so he must be quite skilled."

'Han': =-=

"You intend to appoint Qin Ziying as the King of Qin?"

“Then forget it,” Liu Bang immediately refused. He had never intended to use Qin Ziying for the assassination. So what if he knew that the other party had killed Zhao Gao? He had great confidence in Xiang Yu. Qin Ziying couldn’t kill him. He was just testing whether 'Han' had any intention of changing its name back. Seeing that 'Han' was looking at him with a speechless expression, he continued to offer other feasible suggestions, “Then how about I have Emperor Yi of Chu abolish his title of Hegemon?”

"He himself gave himself the title of Overlord, don't you think?"

"Is there really no other way?" Liu Bang asked with a sorrowful expression. He had absolutely refused the order to carry out the assassination.

"unless……"

As Liu Bang heard the words "Han," his eyes lit up, and he said that assassination should be done by professionals.

"unless?"

"What do you think about a ruler dying at the hands of his subject?"

Liu Bang always felt that the name 'Han' was hinting at something to him. He recalled the monarch who had recently died at the hands of his ministers, namely Hu Hai. However, the last emperor was not of much reference value, and it would not be surprising if he died at the hands of anyone.

Even if someone told him one day that Hu Hai had hanged himself, he wouldn't find it strange.

Hanging was already considered a dignified way for a deposed monarch to die.

As if knowing what Liu Bang was thinking, 'Han' added a precondition: "Want to kill the founding emperor..."

Liu Bang thought there was no need to think about it anymore; no founding emperor in history had ever died so ignominiously.

Yes, he believed that Xiang Yu was capable of becoming the founding emperor. Although he felt that Xiang Yu had a big problem with his temper, it was undeniable that his martial prowess was unprecedented.

"You..." Han looked Liu Bang up and down, "How about finding a Bai Qi instead?"

He certainly understands the mystery of the clash of fortunes, but is it really appropriate to use "one" as a quantifier for the God of Slaughter Bai Qi? If he could find it, would he still be besieged in Xianyang?

But then again, he left it in his hometown to look after the house...

"Meng Tian?"

The Han emperor smiled and stroked Liu Bang's head, encouraging him: "Qin has been gone for eight hundred years."

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Author's note: Sliding rail jpg

QAQ, I will definitely finish writing it within three months QAQ.

The author of "Private Marseille" has an avoidant personality disorder. At first, I experienced writer's block, and later I was afraid to log into my account for fear of seeing your comments criticizing me. The more I avoided it, the more I avoided it. Now that I'm updating, as long as you don't criticize me, I can adjust my mindset and try to become a daily writer again, break the avoidance habit, and embrace a happy life QAQ.